Nikanassin Formation

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Nikanassin Formation
Stratigraphic range: Portlandian to Barremian
Athabasca at Brule Lake.jpg
Nikanassin Formation near Brule
Type Geological formation
Underlies Cadomin Formation
Overlies Fernie Formation
Thickness400 meters (1,300 ft) to 0
Lithology
Primary Sandstone, shale
Other Coal
Location
Coordinates 53°17′21″N117°52′34″W / 53.28917°N 117.87611°W / 53.28917; -117.87611 (Nikanassin Formation)
Region Western Canada Sedimentary Basin
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Type section
Named for Nikanassin Range
Named byMacKay, 1929 [1]

The Nikanassin Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Jurassic (Portlandian) to Early Cretaceous (Barremian) age. [2] It is present along the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. [3] Its name was first proposed by D.B. Dowling in 1909 (Coal Fields South of Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain, Alberta Page 140 paragraph 4 " to this it is proposed to give the name Nikanassin, from the Cree word meaning outer range" Also it is noted on the map by D.B. Dowling.(Geological Survey of Canada. Incorrect info follows: It was named by B.R. MacKay in 1929 [1] for the Nikanassin Range of the front-central ranges of the Canadian Rockies (Nikanassin means "first range" in Cree [4] ). Mackay did not designate a type locality for the formation, although he described outcrops near the hamlet of Brûlé, north of the Yellowhead Highway outside of Jasper National Park. [5] [6]

Contents

Depositional history

The Nikanassin Formation grades from marine sediments at the base to coastal and continental at the top. [5] [6] The sediments were derived from newly uplifted mountains to the west and deposited along the western margin of the Western Interior Seaway, which is represented by the marine shales of the Fernie Formation. [3]

Lithology

The Nikanassin consists primarily of marine sandstones interbedded with dark grey shales. The sandstones are dark grey, hard, mostly quartzose, and fine- to medium-grained. In the foothills the upper beds are nonmarine and include thin coal beds and carbonaceous shales. There are no commercially significant coal beds. [5] [6]

Thickness and distribution

The Nikanassin thickens northward from the foothills near the North Saskatchewan River, reaching a maximum of about 400 meters (1,300 ft) near Brûlé. From there it thins toward the east and north. It extends into the southernmost part of northeastern British Columbia, where it transitions into the Minnes Group. [5] [6]

Relationship to other units

The Nikanassin is roughly equivalent to the Kootenay Group of the southern Alberta foothills and the Minnes Group north of northeastern British Columbia. It conformably overlies and interfingers with the "Passage Beds" at the top of the Fernie Formation. [5] [6]

A major period of regional erosion occurred after the deposition of the Nikanassin, removing some of the uppermost Nikanassin strata prior to the deposition of the overlying conglomerates of the Cadomin Formation. The contact between the two formations is thus sharp and unconformable. [3] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadomin Formation</span>

The Cadomin Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Early Cretaceous age in the western part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is extends from southeastern British Columbia through western Alberta to northeastern British Columbia, and it contains significant reservoirs of natural gas in some areas. It was named after the mining town of Cadomin, which is an acronym of "Canadian Dominion Mining".

Gething Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta, and includes economically important coal deposits.

Bullhead Group is a stratigraphic unit of Lower Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin of northeastern British Columbia and western Alberta. It was first defined by F.H. McLearn in 1918 as the Bullhead Mountain Formation, but later was upgraded to group status. It consists of the Cadomin and Gething Formations, although some early workers included the Bluesky Formation and others in the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernie Formation</span>

The Fernie Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Jurassic age. It is present in the western part of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the town of Fernie, British Columbia, and was first defined by W.W. Leach in 1914.

The Exshaw Formation is a stratigraphic unit in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It takes the name from the hamlet of Exshaw, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies, and was first described from outcrops on the banks of Jura Creek north of Exshaw by P.S. Warren in 1937. The formation is of Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age as determined by conodont biostratigraphy, and it straddles the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary.

The Mist Mountain Formation is a geologic formation of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southern and central Canadian Rockies. It was named for outcrops along the western spur of Mist Mountain in Alberta by D.W. Gibson in 1979. The Mist Mountain Formation contains economically important coal seams that have been mined in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morrissey Formation</span>

The Morrissey Formation is a stratigraphic unit of Late Jurassic (Portlandian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is named for outcrops on Morrissey Ridge, 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of Fernie, British Columbia, and is present in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta.

The Elk Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta. It is probably of Early Cretaceous age, but in some areas its strata could be as old as Late Jurassic. It includes minor thin coal beds and was named for outcrops near the now-abandoned Elk River coal mine east of Fernie, British Columbia.

The Minnes Group, originally named the Minnes Formation, is a geologic unit of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia and west-central Alberta. Its strata include natural gas reservoirs and minor coal deposits. Fossil dinosaur tracks have been described from one of its formations.

The Sulphur Mountain Formation is a geologic formation of Early to Middle Triassic age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the foothills and Rocky Mountains of western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. It includes marine fossils from the time shortly after the Permian-Triassic extinction event.

The Coalspur Formation is an Upper Cretaceous to lower Palaeocene stratigraphic unit of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the foothills of southwestern Alberta. Its deposition spanned the time interval from latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to early Palaeocene, and it includes sediments that were deposited before, during, and after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event. It includes the economically important coal deposits of the Coalspur Coal Zone, as well as nonmarine plant and animal fossils.

The Beattie Peaks Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of marine mudstone. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia.

The Monach Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of sandstone. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia.

The Monteith Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of sandstone. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia and west-central Alberta.

The Kootenay Group, originally called the Kootenay Formation, is a geologic unit of latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the southern and central Canadian Rockies and foothills. It includes economically important deposits of high-rank bituminous and semi-anthracite coal, as well as plant fossils and dinosaur trackways.

The Gorman Creek Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of nonmarine sediments. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies and the adjacent plains in northeastern British Columbia. Plant fossils and dinosaur tracks have been described from its strata.

The Bickford Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that consists primarily of nonmarine sediments. It is present in the northern foothills of the Canadian Rockies in northeastern British Columbia.

The Luscar Group is a geologic unit of Early Cretaceous age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin that is present in the foothills of southwestern Alberta. It is subdivided into a series of formations, some of which contain economically significant coal deposits that have been mined near Cadomin and Luscar. Coal mining in those areas began in the early 1900s and continues near Luscar as of 2016.

The Whitehorse Formation is a geologic formation of Late Triassic age. It is present on the western edge of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in western Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. It was first described as a member of the Spray River Formation by P.S. Warren in 1945, who named it for Whitehorse Creek, a tributary of the McLeod River south of Cadomin, Alberta. It was later raised to formation status.

The geology of Alberta encompasses parts of the Canadian Rockies and thick sedimentary sequences, bearing coal, oil and natural gas, atop complex Precambrian crystalline basement rock.

References

  1. 1 2 Mackay, B.R., 1929a. Mountain Park Sheet, West of Fifth Meridian, Alberta; Geological Survey of Canada, "A" Series Map 208A, Scale: 1:63360 (1 Inch to 1 Mile).
  2. ↑ Poulton, T.P., Tittemore, J. and Dolby, G. 1990. Jurassic strata of northwestern (and west-central) Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology 38A: 159-175.
  3. 1 2 3 Mossop, G.D. and Shetsen, I., (compilers), Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists and Alberta Geological Survey (1994). "The Geological Atlas of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Chapter 18: Jurassic and Lowermost Cretaceous strata of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin". Archived from the original on 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2013-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Bivuac.com. "Nikanassin Range" . Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Glass, D.J. (editor) 1997. Lexicon of Canadian Stratigraphy, vol. 4, Western Canada including eastern British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba. Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Calgary, 1423 p. on CD-ROM. ISBN   0-920230-23-7.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units. "Nikanassin Formation" . Retrieved 2009-02-05.
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